Ekhaga-Project
Promoting human health and well-being by maintaining matrix related organic food qualities from field to fork
Project period: 01.03.2019-31.08.2022
Project coordination: Dr. Dominika Średnicka-Tober, WULS, Poland
Project funding: Ekhagastiftelsen (Ekhaga Foundation)
Section's research area: Matrix
Project aim: to define and to promote food processing technologies that would assure bringing healthy attributes of the organic crops from farm to fork through the processing step.
Project description: A range of food quality dimensions such as sensory and compositional product qualities, metabolome and various health markers will be included as targets within this project. The study will focus on organic fruit and vegetable juices produced according to a number of well-defined sets of processing conditions. The samples will be carefully analysed for the concentrations of important health-promoting bioactive compounds (i.e. vitamin C, phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, chlorophylls) and total antioxidant activity. Sensory properties of juices will be evaluated using the Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) method, standard consumer sensory tests as well as novel Empathic Food Testing, addressing the emotional and bodily sensations induced by food. Moreover, the anticancer potential of selected juice extracts will be tested in vitro based on their impact on vitality, proliferation ability and apoptosis vs. necrosis level of Caco-2 Human Colon Carcinoma Cells and FHC ATCC ® CRL-1831™ Homo sapiens colon normal cell line. The FHC normal colon cells exposed to juice extracts will be also tested for a wide range of oxidative stress markers and antioxidant potential. Juice extracts and the exposed cells will additionally undergo the metabolomics analyses, allowing to identify the potential impacts of processing technologies on the juice metabolome, and its consequences for the cells metabolism. Extensive systematic literature review on the role of food matrix in processing, nutrition and health will be also undertaken within the project.
Cooperation partners: Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS), Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Poland